Appvion enters into sale agreement with group of lenders for $325 million

Appvion, Inc. has filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware for approval of a stalking horse asset purchase agreement bid from a group of its lenders (the "Purchaser") to acquire substantially all of Appvion's assets in a sale process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

"After evaluating options to address our capital structure and conducting extensive negotiations with our lenders, we determined that a sale would be the best path forward for Appvion," said Kevin Gilligan, CEO of Appvion. "We expect that the sale process will be seamless for our stakeholders and will not disrupt our operations. This process will bring a timely and efficient conclusion to our restructuring and ensure that our company emerges as a healthier, financially-stable business poised to compete long term in the specialty paper market and further invest in the innovation that has made Appvion a market leader."

The agreement with the Purchaser, which is subject to higher or otherwise better offers, provides a total consideration of $325 million plus the assumption of substantial liabilities. Pursuant to Section 363, Appvion intends to implement bid procedures to allow other qualified bidders the opportunity to submit competing bids through a court-supervised sale process. The Court is scheduled to consider the proposed bid procedures on March 1, 2018.